Interview

Young Guns

Gustav Wood interview

“Oh man. We haven’t even started yet…” : Young Guns talk America, fans and what their parents would say if they knew what they got up to on tour.

Ever since the release of their EP Mirrors back in 2009, British quintet Young Guns have executed a number of aspirational achievements. Since then, they have released two full length albums, supported the likes of Bon Jovi and Enter Shikari and even played the prestigious main stages of both Reading Festival and Download Festival. We caught up with vocalist Gustav Wood to get the lowdown on what is yet to come…

Aside from the abundance of success in their native Britain, Young Guns have also struck gold across the pond which resulted in their hit single Bones topping the US Billboard Chart and become the theme song for WWE’s Wrestlemania 2013. But there’s no need to worry about losing them to the States just yet as vocalist Gustav Wood reassured us that he loves touring the USA but his “heart will always belong here, at home in the UK”.

Riding high off the back of the American HardDrive Live tour where they performed as special guests for Bullet For My Valentine, the bands are due to team up again on the Rule Britannia arena tour alongside Asking Alexandria. So in the name of the tour you may be wondering: what would be the first thing the band did if Britain was under their rule?

Well Gustav answered just that: “Ha! I'd make lessons focusing in tolerance and equality part of every child's schooling as soon as they begin. We have a wonderful country full of different types of people and it's so sad that divides still exist in 2013.”

“I'd also make weekends three days long because fuck Mondays,” he joked.

Back on home turf and raring to go, the lads have a few tricks up their sleeves for the final Young Guns’ UK shows of the year whilst on the tour. After performing various covers such as Adele’s Set Fire To The Rain at Leeds Festival 2012 and Smashing Pumpkin’s Today at Download Festival 2013 the band are no strangers to shaking things up.

When asked whether there are to be any surprises on the Rule Britannia run Gustav teased, “We do but I'd like to keep them under wraps at this point. We are on first so will be limited in terms of stage production or whatever but we will likely be playing some new music. Wait and see!”

Young Guns also participated in a signing session whilst at the notorious Download Festival and have been known to attend many more. Fans play the most vital role in a band’s career and can often be taken for granted but something that this band holds dear to their hearts is the relationship they have with their supporters.

“Connecting with your fan base, and then keeping that connection alive and healthy is of paramount importance to us. I love bands that are larger than life and maybe a little unattainable and mysterious but since day one we've made engaging with people that like our band an absolute priority. I think bands these days have to make sure their audience understands how important they are to bands as there are simply so many around and attention spans are shorter than ever before. It's a challenge but an enjoyable one. Plus it's hard to be enigmatic when they've seen you crawl out of a van after sleeping it all night and are hung over and in need of a shower. Ha!”

But the band’s biggest fans, of course, are their families who have supported their hard work every step of the way and don’t mind their partying antics.

“Well, being in a band certainly isn't as hedonistic and rock n roll as people think, for the most part. Our families know how hard we work and I'm sure don't begrudge us blowing off steam on the road. We're all relatively well behaved anyway.”

Gustav also revealed that the most emotional he’s ever felt on stage was Young Gun’s Shepherds Bush show last year.

“I was amazed that we’d managed to get to that stage and really felt that it was the show of our lives at that point.”

So what does the future hold for a band that just keeps going from strength to strength? Well here’s what its vocalist has to say:

“Oh man. We haven't even started yet as a band. We have the best songs we've ever written under our belts for this next record and we're itching to get started right now. We're recording it with an incredible producer and although we can't announce anything just yet next year we are gonna be back bigger and better than ever before. It's a new chapter for us and a chance for us to reshape people's opinions of who Young Guns are, because we finally actually know ourselves.”

Catch Young Guns on the Rule Britannia Tour alongside Asking Alexandria and Bullet For My Valentine this winter. Tickets are on sale now from all major ticket suppliers.